Today’s WORD would be popular if people were honest and used a more accurate term than “misanthropic.”
WORK
Who do you see when you see me?“ she asked him, burying her own face in his bosom.
”Do you want the truth?“
She nodded.
”The firing squad.“
”That’s not the whole truth. Try again.“
”Insatiability,“ he said with some bitterness.
”That’s oblique but altogether too simple. Once more,“ she insisted. ”One more time.“
He was silent for several minutes.
”The map of a country in which I only exist by virtue of the extravagance of my metaphors.“
”Now you’re being too sophisticated. And, besides, what metaphors do we have in common?"
—Angela Carter
—from Heroes and Villains
WORD(S)
phobanthropy. noun. The morbid dread of mankind; a fear of humanity; the opposite of philanthropy.
“The evil of Ireland…is her seven millions of a cottier population—and the phobanthropy (to coin a word) of the other, not over-wise, noble lords.” (The Westminster and Foreign Quarterly review)
“I was more and more afriad as the days passed and as I fought up out of the misiness and fever into strength and clarity of mind, convalescing. There was a return of my old phobanthropy. I fled people.” (Leonard Cline)
WEB
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Some surprisingly thought-provoking pictures (and interesting characters, natch) → “Insane Record Collections and the People Who Own Them”
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“Electrical brain stimulation beats caffeine—and the effect lasts longer”
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“My Last Day in Yemen” is a compelling story of a journalist’s near fatal decision to get just one more story in a land he loved.
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Today is the anniversary of the killing of a historical figure whose life has inspired a mythology that greatly overshadows his real life. Yes, I speak of Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard who, on this day in 1718, was killed in a battle with sailors ordered to apprehend him. Contrary to the popular stories, Teach was neither a particularly successful pirate nor a particularly cruel one. In fact, there is no record of his ever having harmed a captive and it seems he ruled through cultivation of a fearsome image and not a small amount of psychological manipulation…he commanded his ships (at least 41 over his lifetime) with the permission of his crew. Robert Maynard, who lead the party that captured Teach—who only succumbed after being shot 5 times and cut 20 times—hung Teach’s head from his bowsprit as a powerful symbol…and the proof needed to claim a large reward.
REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES
Don Delillo’s work, in the last newsletters, provoked/inspired great comments from the Clamor:
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Reader M.: “DeLillo’s deft use of verb tense is overlooked. He weaves in and out of present tense, past and past-perfect tense so well you hardly notice it. The way he weaves in and out through time makes my brain feel like it’s in a inner tube meandering downriver. But of course, it’s DeLillo so there is always that waterfall at the end, but in the mean time I’ll just go with it.”
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Reader C.: “The one that jumped at me was ‘Everything we need that is not food or love is here in the tabloid racks.’ ¶ Ironically I just picked up The Body Artist and Alpha Omega at a used book sale (because they are thin) (because they are Delillo). I’ve only ready Libra and White Noise. ¶ I find his writing draws me in.. not quite sure what he is doing in first 3 chapters of The Body Artist but along for the ride.”
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Reader S.: “I read End Zone when it was first published during my early college years. While timing and circumstance had much to do my engagement with it, I’d still probably include it on my list of most personally influential books. Nothing like having your world expanded at an impressionable age…”
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Reader T.: “Great excerpt, great line from within it. (An excerpt of an excerpt is a…?)” — Good question…
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